Wording
names and sentences that say nothing
The wording checks refuse a name or a sentence that points at the page, hides who acts, quotes the owner instead of stating a rule, or uses a word that carries no fact.[1] Each names the field it found, or the page and line of the sentence.[1] Every page is checked, including one excused from citations.[2] Words inside code are left alone, because a sample shows text as written, and capital letters make no difference.[3] Headings are held to the pointing words on Headings.
Pointing words
A page title, infobox group or infobox label that opens with this, that, these, those, our or
here is refused, and the check asks for the thing itself.[4] This site reads as nothing in a
contents box.[4] A sentence, subtitle or intent is refused when this, these or our comes directly
before repository, repositories, repo, project, site, website, wiki, tool, package or
codebase, because to a reader who arrived from a search, this repository is no repository at
all.[5]
Vague actors
A word that says an unnamed person acts is refused wherever it stands whole: nobody, somebody,
someone, anyone, anybody, everyone, everybody, and no one written with a space or a
hyphen.[6] The check reads the title, subtitle and
intent, every infobox group, label, value and note, and every sentence, but no heading.[6] Such a
word hides the one fact a reader needs, so a page names the reader, the owner, an agent or the part of the
system that acts.[6]
Attribution
A page that tells a rule as a quote of the owner is refused, because the quote dates the page and argues
instead of describing.[7] Where a requirement came from is recorded with the work that
implements it.[7] Two kinds of wording are refused: the owner or the owner's ruling, with or
without a comma, followed by a date written as year, month and day, such as the owner, 2026-09-14; and
the owner followed by said, says, asked, wrote or ruled.[7] The check reads the subtitle, intent and every sentence, but no title, heading or
infobox row.[7]
Empty words
A word that carries no fact is refused wherever the vague-actor check looks, and the problem says what to
write instead.[8] may, just, some and new have plain uses too, so the writer
judges them.[8]
| Kind | Words refused |
|---|---|
| Marketing | powerful, seamless, robust, cutting-edge, best-in-class[8] |
| Minimisers | simply, easily, obviously, of course, clearly[8] |
| Hedges | appears to, seems to, typically, usually, generally, probably, likely, in some cases, tends to[8] |
| Preamble | note that, it is worth noting, please be aware, in order to[8] |
| Open lists | etc., and so on, and/or, various[8] |
| Time words | currently, at the moment, for now[8] |
| Empty amounts | a number of, reasonable[8] |
| Infobox values | a value that is only yes, configurable, varies or depends[9] |